Worth patching this frame?

Should I save it?

  • Junk it, not worth saving.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

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    12

Farmer Rock

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My 93 CC had terrible frame flex, mostly because I took it off road loaded very often. Everyone thought I bent the frame at some point.
As for the hitch, my truck had the exact same setup, notched channel welded on top of the frame. It had been used for years, but just seemed to sketchy if something was to happen. I had plans of plating the sides of the hitch. Bolted vertical on the frame, and welded to the channel.
If you plan on keeping it, that's probably the best way to go, it's not gonna hurt anything.
Now welding the bed to the frame, that's a whole nother' level of Rube Goldberg.



Rock
 

franklin2

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I've been told welding the worn spots would be bad because of the amount of weld required to fill the voids. I was told it's going to be MORE likely to crack because of the heat input. I've heard this from two separate very seasoned welders. That's why I'm leaning towards plate the bottom and epoxy the voids.

What's your thoughts on that? I know you have done a fair amount of welding lol.

Oddly enough the gooseneck had been plated over in the bed where they had cut the hole....
Keep listening to your welder friends. Like I said, try not to mess with the top and bottom parts of the frame. They welded the hitch onto the top which was the wrong thing to do, but what's done is done.

If you notice, the factory bent the top and bottom of the frame to form the channel. When they bend it like this, it makes the metal harder and stronger. If you put a lot of heat in that area, it softens the metal, sort of like annealing it would do. And all the holes they put in the frame, they punch them. Punching them also strengthens the metal around the hole.

Have you ever heard of people who enter cars in the crash up derbys taking a hammer and lightly beating the whole body of the car before the race? I think most officials don't allow this anymore, but what it would do is make the whole body of the car stronger from strikes of the hammer. Same theory as the frame being bent and punched.

Of course if you bend metal too much, it gets so hard it cracks.
 

Ford005

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I’ve modified and welded on these frames plenty, from stretching and shortening to making off-road trucks. I would not hesitate to fill those wear marks with weld and buff them smooth with a flap disk. You don’t need to burn them in on the highest setting so you can control how much heat you put to it. I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t do that though.

The flanges (top/bottom) take the ‘weight’. The webbing, specifically the height of the webbing, sets there distance which affects their strength. Depending on how the chassis is loaded, the top is usually in compression and the bottom tension, but a heavy tag or loads behind the axle can change that. To plate it correctly, the “plate” needs to have a top flange, bolted to the webbing (not flange) and extend ~6” on either side of the repair.

Like I said, it weld it up, smooth it out, and send it.
 

aggiediesel01

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I’d go with what @no mufflers suggested. Laying beads to fix wear spots is a very common technique. It’s done on all kind of shafts that have been worn too much. In particular it’s done to crankshafts all the time. Future cracking issues can be mitigated by pre and post heating the areas to spread the heat affected zone which will relax the grain structures there. These older frames are not cold formed or hydro formed so they are much more forgiving on repairs.

Related to the earlier comments about semi truck frames, you can find the official ford upfitter manual for the obs style trucks which discusses allowable techniques for frame modifications.

You can also find and read the ford body shop repair manuals for these trucks which discusses frame repair.

I don’t think a plate welded here is a good idea because you won’t be able to help the fact that you will have a small unsealable gap between the two layers that will wick up moisture and maybe saltwater. And folks from salty states know exactly what that leads to.
 
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chillman88

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And folks from salty states know exactly what that leads to

Hey, I resent that remark LOL

That's why I wish I could swing the extra for galvanizing. I might just hold off a little bit longer until I can. I don't intend to daily drive it in the salt, but I know it'll happen. I've already had to drive it through a winter a few years ago.
 

aggiediesel01

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Hot dip galvanizing would be an excellent choice. I don’t know what it costs these days but 20 odd years ago down here in central Texas there was a place that was doing it for $.30/lb with a $100 minimum. Their tank wasn’t big enough to do an entire frame but I used them to do all the trim pieces on my old Land Rover restoration project and it turned out nice.

The hot dip does a good job of wicking into layers and making a pretty good seal if you’ve got clean new metal. But if they have to pickle the metal first, then the acid wicks into the layers and it’s difficult to flush it out. It prevents the hot dip from plating that area and the end result is nearly as bad as no plating.
 

chillman88

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Hot dip galvanizing would be an excellent choice. I don’t know what it costs these days but 20 odd years ago down here in central Texas there was a place that was doing it for $.30/lb with a $100 minimum. Their tank wasn’t big enough to do an entire frame but I used them to do all the trim pieces on my old Land Rover restoration project and it turned out nice.

The hot dip does a good job of wicking into layers and making a pretty good seal if you’ve got clean new metal. But if they have to pickle the metal first, then the acid wicks into the layers and it’s difficult to flush it out. It prevents the hot dip from plating that area and the end result is nearly as bad as no plating.

I believe they told me $0.60/lb with a $50 minimum. They could dip my whole truck in their tanks LOL We use them through work and they're 5min down the road from work. I have to weigh the frame once I get it stripped and see. That would get into the boxed sections of the frame is my biggest concern. I don't know how good of a job we'll do blasting and painting those spots.

But ... If I do get it galvanized, I'll have to drill for the air bags and 5th wheel and receiver hitch all before I dip it, and that adds time and money too. Sure I could do that after, but it seems to defeat the purpose a little bit in my opinion.
 

catbird7

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Powder coating might be another option. They have some excellent coatings that really perform in harsh environments. Our winter hack (S10 Blazer) has a trailer hitch on it that I had powder coated with a product they called "weather guard", that was 10 years ago and still no rust!
 

chillman88

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Powder coating might be another option. They have some excellent coatings that really perform in harsh environments. Our winter hack (S10 Blazer) has a trailer hitch on it that I had powder coated with a product they called "weather guard", that was 10 years ago and still no rust!

I've never been a huge fan of powder coating, at least in salt spray. If it was a summer only vehicle I would consider it, but I've seen too many powder coated parts flake and peel from rust creeping in from a seam and spreading under the powder coating. Plus it always looks like crap when you have to sand it back and touch up with paint. At least the crap job they do where I work LOL
 

captain720

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I would either not worry about the hole or plate and weld it, if your super worried pre and post heat it but these mild steel frames can put up with A LOT although if it’s some kind of pavement princess SEMA thing than just find a perfect frame and sell this one or something.
 

no mufflers

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I've been told welding the worn spots would be bad because of the amount of weld required to fill the voids. I was told it's going to be MORE likely to crack because of the heat input. I've heard this from two separate very seasoned welders. That's why I'm leaning towards plate the bottom and epoxy the voids.

What's your thoughts on that? I know you have done a fair amount of welding lol.

Oddly enough the gooseneck had been plated over in the bed where they had cut the hole....
i get what you mean. i am no expert in metallurgy but have done a lot of fab work on frames over the years and haven't had an issue with doing stuff like this. its not a structural weld so you could do small tacks and the heat will get soaked up quick. i would always prefer to weld and properly repair any wear or damage on metal vs just cover it up. just my .02
 

chillman88

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i get what you mean. i am no expert in metallurgy but have done a lot of fab work on frames over the years and haven't had an issue with doing stuff like this. its not a structural weld so you could do small tacks and the heat will get soaked up quick. i would always prefer to weld and properly repair any wear or damage on metal vs just cover it up. just my .02

That was my thought originally as well. I appreciate your input! Glad to hear from you, hope you're doing well!
 

no mufflers

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Yeah I figured. Still planning the engine swap or is that back burner for now?

yeah its still on the planning board, and i could say its like most towns and no progress has been made yet lol. my lift i would use to work on it has been occupied with paying jobs so hard to turn them away. way she goes i guess lol.
 

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